DIY: Faux Marble Table Top

This weekend I did a little makeover (IKEA hack really) on our old DOCKSTA table that was looking a little dingy.  We've had that table for over five years I think (maybe 7) and the top was showing it, definitely in stains, scuffs and dings.  So I know this is more of a temporary solution as I don't know how long this will last, but whatever it is, it's a big improvement over what we had.  Check out my before and after:

It's hard to see the stains in the picture (but trust me they're there), and yes I switched out the kitchen chairs with the dining ones (they just seemed to want to be together after this - and we don't have a dining table anyway yet).  We hope to build a nook type banquette eventually here with maybe even a real tulip table one day (dream).

My how-to? I used faux marble contact paper!  I know (pretty temporary) but I might purchase a glass top to cover it, or when it does start to peel (er, um melt), I'll just lay some new stuff!  (I was inspired by Catherine Therrien's project in April's Style at Home where she used washi tape). Laying it was super tricky and measuring it was worse, as anyone who has one of these tables knows, it's super heavy; so to flip over to trace out a nice circle was not going to happen.  But basically I just placed the paper (design face down) and then traced with a pencil the circle that way.  And then applied!  The paper I picked up (Grip-Tac) was pretty bubble proof so really no bubbles to be had, but the ones that did appear I popped with a pin.  And that was it.  My faux marble table top! (Psssst! I kind of want to marbelize everything now).

Read More

Weekend Project: Accordion Sconce (Ikea Hack)

I had a bit of a lightbulb (pardon the pun) moment a bit back when I was posting about Nickey Kehoe Interiors and the accordian wall lamps I saw (and loved) everywhere.  I knew I had something similar hanging around the house somewhere and realized it was my IKEA FRÄCK accordian bathroom mirror.  I also found an old $5 IKEA clamp light (just hanging around doing nothing) and so I decided to use it and try to merge the two into a simple hack that anyone could do. And well, here it is!  The only thing I had to buy was a plaque (to secure it to the wall better) and we were set!

Materials Used:
IKEA FRÄCK accordian bathroom mirror
A clamp light, (mine was an old one from IKEA) but a small aluminum clamp light would probably look even better (I will probably exchange mine out thinking about it now)
A wall plaque or piece of wood (I picked up mine at Michael's)
2 screws
Paint (optional)

How-To:
Remove the mirror from the accordian portion of the fixture if attached (usually they are already apart when you buy them).  Our clamp light had one hole (in one part of the clamp) but not in the other - so we had to drill a hole through the other end in order for us to slip the clamp light in replace of the mirror of the accordion fixture. We slipped the clamp part of the light through the metal piece where the mirror would go, leaving the top part of the light clamp on the outside of the screw, so that it wouldn't fall down.  But you could also just have it slip in between the two.

At this point you could paint the plaque if you wished it to be a different color - however I chose to keep our's white to blend in with the wall colour, but black would look pretty awesome too.  Also if you wish, you could paint the accordion part (which I was thinking about) but opted out to.  But I do love the look of a black plaque and a black accordion - just like the ones found at Nickey Kehoe Interiors - so I just might paint them later.

Once you've decided to paint or not (and the paint is dry of course), you can then attach the accordion part to the plaque by centering it - marking holes where the screws will go with a pencil.  And then just attach with the screws.  We did this so it's more secure to the wall and won't eventually end up falling off due to usage. But you don't have to use a plaque if you wanted to skip that part. 

Next just attach to the wall and you're done! I placed ours over my old piano my Mom so generously gave to us this past year and which desperately needed lighting nearby it. It's so nice to have the piano around again and to be able to see the music now too!

Wishing you a lovely weekend!
~Jan
Follow me this month at Martha Stewart Living's Pinterest Board here and online elsewhere:
pinterest | facebook | twitter | bloglovin

My other posts this week:
New things for the littles at IKEA 
West Elm launches affordable Bend outdoor furniture
Les Zigouis for spring

Read More

DIY Idea: Accessories/Towel Ladder –Ikea Hack

Loving this simple DIY solution from the folks at Livet Hemma sent in this week. They painted the IVAR side unit (vertical bars only) in black, leaving a great contrast to the untreated solid pine horizontal bars –makes for an awesome accessories valet or towel ladder for the dressing room or bathroom. 

Read More